


Life's full of surprises

by freeagentgirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Dad!Dean, Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, Domestic Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Grieving Castiel, Grieving Dean Winchester, Humor, M/M, Minor Character Death, SPN Reverse Bang Challenge 2015, Single Parent Dean, Unplanned Pregnancy, Yoga Instructor Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 21:47:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3304604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freeagentgirl/pseuds/freeagentgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean thought his world had turned upside down when Anna, one of his one night stands, told him she was pregnant. But that was nothing compared to how he felt when tragedy struck, leaving him to be a single father without his best friend.</p><p>He's figuring things out now, adjusting to his life as a single parent, when Anna's brother Castiel comes home from overseas and things begin to change again...but this time for the better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've ever written and what a VERY steep learning curve it was! If nothing else, this challenge has now given me the confidence to put other ideas into fic form, so keep your eyes open for more stories in the future! ;)
> 
> Thank you to [Jessi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Jessi) for lighting the fire under my butt over a year ago on twitter. You may or may not remember me, but thank you for the initial nudge and encouragement. I still haven't written that story (movie rewrite) that I had wanted to originally, but I will soon. :D
> 
> Thank you to my fellow ship mates on the USS Destiel:
> 
> [Erika](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Eyed_Raven) Thank you for your feedback, faith in me and my writing and encouragement when it was needed. It helped to keep me sane.
> 
> [Jess](http://wincechesters.tumblr.com) Thank you so much for being my beta, for ALL of your help (pep talks, encouragement, etc.) through out this process and for being the final push that I needed to start writing.
> 
> And lastly, to my artist [Crystal](http://weasleysangel.livejournal.com) for the lovely [art](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3304652)! Please go and show her some love for the art she's done

 

[ ](http://imgur.com/3nJKrQt)

 

To say that Dean’s life had undergone some major changes in the last year would be a _huge_ understatement. All it took was a chance meeting at a bar one night to alter the course of his life forever.

 

Anna had embodied pretty much everything that Dean was drawn to in a person: she was gorgeous, sexy, funny and smart as hell. After they had spent most of the night flirting with each other, Dean took Anna home.

 

Life went on as they went their separate ways the next morning, with the half empty promise of ‘We should do this again sometime’, both aware that the likelihood of that was near zero.

 

That is, until Anna called about a month and a half later.

 

~*~

 

Dean pulled the Impala into a parking spot just outside of Just Desserts and shut the car off. He was puzzled as to why Anna had called him again after all this time, but since they had parted on good terms, he decided that it couldn’t hurt to catch up with her.

 

The bell over the door of the cafe jingled as it opened. Dean entered and made his way to the counter.

 

‘Hey, Gabe. How’s business?’ Gabriel turned to face Dean.

 

‘Dean-o!,’ Gabriel replied with a casual smirk, ‘Things are pretty good here! Busy, for one, but I also think I might try out a few recipes in the kitchen to change things up a little. Want to be a food beta tester for me? With the different things I want to try out, it’s _possible_ that there’ll be some pie in it for you...’ Gabriel winked at Dean.

 

Dean looked at Gabriel incredulously. ‘Dude! Do you seriously even have to ask?! _Hell yeah_! Bring it on!’

 

Gabriel laughed. ‘Alright, I’ll give you a call about it later tonight to figure out a time that works for both of us. That good for you?’

 

Dean nodded enthusiastically and was practically giddy over the promise of free food. He more or less lived on the food from here most days, so the chance to help test new menu creations was _more_ than fine with him.

 

‘So, what can I get for you today?’

 

Dean scanned the menu quickly. ‘Um...Just a black coffee for now. Thanks, dude.’

 

‘No problem! How’s that sasquatch brother of yours?’

 

‘He’s about the same as before. Up to his eyeballs in school work, but the end of the semester is up soon, so I think he’ll be glad for the break. Kid works too hard, but hey, better him than me. I need to do something with my hands, you know? I can’t just sit at a desk for 8 hours a day.’ Gabriel handed Dean his coffee.

 

Gabriel nodded. ‘I hear ya, buddy. That’s why I have this fine establishment!’ he said as he gestured widely around him. ‘Well, next time you talk to him, tell him not to be a stranger. Haven’t seen him in what feels like forever.’

 

‘Will do, Gabe. Anyhow, I gotta run. Thanks for the coffee.’ Dean raised his coffee at Gabriel with a nod before he turned to leave.

 

‘Anytime, kiddo,’ replied Gabriel as he went to serve the next customer.        

~*~

 

Dean looked around the cafe for Anna and spotted her in the back corner in one of the overstuffed chairs that the university students typically coveted during exam time. He made his way to the back where Anna was and sat down.

 

He took in Anna’s hunched posture and how she wouldn’t look at him directly. This wasn’t the bold, sassy woman he knew. Concerned, he spoke.

 

‘Anna? What’s wrong?’ Dean furrowed his eyebrows as he studied her and tried to guess at what could possibly have dimmed the spark of life that Anna normally had about her.

 

Anna looked at him with red, swollen eyes and sniffled. ‘Hey, Dean.’

 

‘Hey. Are you ok? What happened?’ Dean grew more concerned as Anna remained silent.

 

After a long moment, Anna seemed ready to speak. She took a deep, shuddering breath and began, ‘I didn’t want to bother you with this, but I thought you had the right to know.’ Anna dropped her eyes again. ‘I’m pregnant.’

 

‘Whu...wha...huh?’ fell from Dean’s lips before he could stop it. ‘I’m going to be a dad?’

 

Anna visibly cringed. ‘Um...yes?’

 

‘Huh.’ Dean lapsed into silence as thoughts whirled around in his head. This was not at all what he expected when Anna called him, though he hadn’t really expected anything at all, if he was to be honest. He’d come out today more out of curiosity than anything.

 

Dean chewed his lip as, ‘ _Holy shit! I’m going to be a father...Oh, god. I hope I don’t screw this kid up. Please don’t let me screw this kid up,_ ’ echoed through Dean’s mind like a stylus stuck in a groove.

 

Anna had watched Dean’s face when she had dropped the bombshell on him about the pregnancy and now began to fidget as Dean had yet to say another word.

 

‘Dean. Say something.’

 

‘Hmm?’ Dean answered absently. ‘Sorry, I was just thinking. What can I do to help?’

 

Anna stared at Dean in shock. ‘Wha...You’re not mad?’

 

Dean looked at Anna in confusion. ‘Why would I be?’

 

‘Well, I would think most guys would be more than a little freaked out by their one night stand telling them that they’re having their baby. Are you telling me you’re not?’ Anna was puzzled. Why wasn’t he losing his mind and having a fit right about now?

 

‘I’ll admit that I am a little stunned by the news, but no, I’m not going to freak out. What purpose does that serve other than to make you feel like a bad person? It takes two people to make a baby, so why would I blame you for something I had an equal part in?’

 

Anna burst into tears. Dean got up from his chair to kneel in front of her. ‘Hey’ he said as he wiped Anna’s tears away with his thumbs. ‘No tears, ok? I want to do what I can to help out and the rest we can figure out as we go, alright?’

 

Anna nodded and gave Dean a wobbly smile through the tears. ‘You’re something else, you know that, Dean?’

 

Dean puffed out his chest in mock pride. ‘Yep, I know. I’m awesome,’ he replied with a wink and a playful shove.

 

‘Asshat,’ Anna mumbled as she shoved him back, smile on her face.

 

‘Wanna get out of here?’ Dean asked as he waggled his eyebrows.

 

Anna threw her head back in laughter. ‘Gee, I haven’t heard that one in a while...’

 

‘Your chariot awaits, m’lady.’ Dean bowed to Anna, smirk firmly in place.

 

~*~

 

Dean dropped Anna off at home a little while later after they’d gone for a long drive around town to talk. He made plans to join her for her first appointment with the midwife she had chosen when she went next week. He still wasn’t too sure what he thought about all of that, but decided to keep an open mind about it.

 

They had also had a discussion in the car about the possibility of dating. Since their lives were already bound to each other now through the baby, they might as well give it a shot. Couldn’t hurt, right?

 

Dean pulled his phone out from his pocket and dialed. ‘Hey, Sammy! Guess what?’

 

‘What, Dean?’ Sam answered, clearly annoyed by Dean’s chronic inability to call him Sam.

 

‘Guess who’s gonna be an uncle in about, oh say, 9 months or so?’ Dean grinned like a maniac. ‘ _This should be good_ ,’ he thought to himself.

 

Sam was silent before he let out a shocked, ‘What?! Dude! For real?’

 

Dean chuckled. “Yeah, I’m going to be a daddy. Pretty crazy, right?’

 

‘Nah, I think you’d be a good dad. Who’s the girl? Do I know her? I didn’t know you were seeing anybody.’

 

Even though he knew Sam couldn’t see him, Dean squirmed uncomfortably. ‘No, you don’t know her. She’s, uh, she’s a girl I hooked up with one night about a couple of months ago. We were safe and everything, but I guess I’ve got hardy little swimmers.’

 

Sam barked a laugh at that. ‘Only you, Dean, only you. Seriously, though. You’re really ok with this?’

 

‘Yeah, I am. I mean, it’s happening a little sooner than I expected it to in my life, but I think I am going to love having a little dude or little girl turn my world upside down.’

 

‘Have you told Bobby, Ellen or Jo about this yet? I bet they’d be thrilled with the news! I’m pretty certain that Jo would be excited at the prospect of having someone little to spoil rotten. Actually, that would pretty much apply to all of them.’ Sam chuckled as he vividly imagined their reactions.

 

‘No, you were the first one I told. I just dropped Anna off at home not too long ago and I’ve only known myself for a couple of hours.’

 

‘Aw,’ Sam teased, ‘and you chose me to tell first? Jo’s gonna be pissed about that.’

 

‘Yeah, well, Jo’s just going to have to suck it up and deal. Of course, I’d tell my baby bro first.’ Dean paused, contemplative. ‘I just wish Mom and Dad could have been here. They’d be so happy about this.’

 

Sam was quiet for a moment., ‘Yeah, they would be,’ he said softly.

 

Silence sat heavy between them for a long moment. They didn’t often dwell on the loss of their parents, but there were times, like now, where their loss was keenly felt by both. Sam was the first to shake free of the mental fog.

 

‘So, have you guys figured out what you’re going to do now? I mean, you were only together once, so getting married would seem pretty ridiculous...’

 

‘I honestly don’t know how a relationship between Anna and I would pan out. We’ll give dating a shot, but regardless of what happens, I will be a part of this baby’s life and I want you to be as well.’

 

Sam was touched by Dean’s insistence that he wanted him to become a large part of the baby’s life and amazed at his brother’s easy acceptance and grace with a situation that normally had guys his age running for the hills without looking back. He vowed in that moment that he would always be there for Dean and his family, no matter what.

 

‘So, this mystery girl who’s having my future nephew or niece...when do I get to meet her?’

 

Dean smiled. ‘Soon, Sammy. We’ll do the family thing soon. She’s pretty cool, though. I think you guys would get along great.’

 

‘Awesome! I can always use another co-conspirator for prank wars...’ Sam chuckled evilly.

 

‘Hey!’, Dean cried out indignantly. ‘You’d better not! Bitch!’

 

Sam’s cackle through the phone was the last thing Dean heard before he disconnected.

 

Oh, it was _on_...

 

~*~

 

~A few months later~

 

 

Castiel sat in an internet coffee shop in New Delhi, after he had arrived in the city a few hours ago and waited for Anna to pick up his video call on Skype.

 

‘Cas!’ Anna’s voice cried out excitedly.

 

‘Hello, Anna. How are you?’ replied Castiel as he smiled.

 

 

‘Oh, you know.’ Anna smiled back ‘Things are pretty good here. How has India been? God, I can’t even imagine how hot it must be there right now! How are you not super grouchy from having to learn how to teach yoga in that heat?’

 

Castiel laughed. ‘Surprisingly, you do get used to it. I used to sweat a disgustingly obscene amount when I first got here, but it seems that my body has finally adjusted and now that only happens when I exert myself a great deal. How are things with your painting? Do you have any exhibits in the works soon?’

 

‘No,’ Anna breathed out slowly ‘Um, not too much in the foreseeable future, anyways. Maybe one or two shows a few months down the road, but...’

 

‘Oh?’ Castiel frowned. ‘Why’s that? I thought things were going quite well for you at the gallery.’

 

‘No! They are! Things are great there, but...’ Anna fidgeted as she avoided Castiel’s eyes. ‘Cas, I have something to tell you and I don’t want to put it off any longer.’ Anna took a deep breath and continued, ‘I’m pregnant.’

 

Castiel’s eyes widened. ‘Really? That’s fantastic, right? How far along are you? Are you nervous? Happy? Do you know what you’re having yet? Do I know who the father is? Tell me everything! Ah! I wish I wasn’t so far away right now!’ Castiel gave Anna a huge grin and practically bounced with excitement.

 

‘Whoa, slow down there, tiger!’ Anna laughed. ‘Well, to answer your questions, yes, it is fantastic. I definitely had a few freak outs when I first found out, but now I couldn’t be happier about it. I’ve just recently started my second trimester, so I’m just a little over 3 months along. I didn’t want to say anything before, just in case anything happened, but I’ve passed the first hurdle so the chance of miscarriage is less now. I don’t know just yet what I’m having since my ultrasound isn’t for quite a few more weeks, but I’m hoping for a girl. No, you won’t know who the father is. He, uh, well, we kind of hooked up one night at a bar...’

 

‘Anna!’Castiel shouted, startling the people around him.

 

‘What?! Yes, look, I know that sounds really bad, but Dean’s actually a really great guy! Probably better than I could have hoped for, given the circumstances now. He was pretty shocked, of course, when I first told him about it a few weeks later, but he’s been so awesome since then. He’s been so supportive and has been there for me every step of the way so far. Especially when I would freak out and cry and say that I couldn’t do this, he could always calm me down.’

 

‘That’s good to hear, at least. So, are you guys together, then?’ Castiel asked as he sipped on his tea.

 

‘No, we’re not together.’ Anna replied. ‘We did try dating for a few weeks, but we just weren’t feeling it, y’know? Besides, I think Dean is probably turning out to be one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I think that you and Dean would really get along. He’s pretty funny and laid back and he makes it very easy to like him.’

 

‘Hmmm,’ Castiel hummed. ‘He sounds intriguing. I definitely look forward to meeting him when I get back, then.’

 

‘Yeah, speaking of.’ Anna looked at Castiel. ‘Where are you off to next?’

 

‘Well, I just finished my yoga teacher training course the other day, so I’m going to hang out in New Delhi for the next day or so before I fly over to Shanghai. From there, I’m going to do some travelling for a few weeks through China before my course for Thai massage starts in Chiang Mai.’

 

‘Aw, Cas,’ Anna groaned. ‘I’m so jealous! I wish I would’ve done more travelling before now.’

 

‘You’ll still be able to travel eventually: you’ll just have to do a lot of planning ahead of time’

 

‘I know, I know,’ Anna sighed. ‘I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously through you for a while.’

 

‘I guess so.’ Castiel laughed.

 

‘Anyways, I should get going.’ Anna yawned. ‘It’s getting pretty late here. Love you, Cas. I miss you so much.’

 

‘Love you, too, Anna. I miss you as well.’

 

‘Have a good morning and a good rest of your day, Cas.’

 

‘Have a good night and sleep well, Anna.’

 


	2. Chapter 2

Castiel never thought when he started his journey all those months ago, that he would feel any different than he did on any other given day, but ever since he had started his regular practice with yoga every day, he found a clarity and stillness within that he had never known before. It felt good to just lose himself in the flow of one pose into another and to breathe deeply through the series of moves.

 

And soon he would start to learn the basics of Thai massage, something else he could add to his list of healing therapies for when he opened a clinic/yoga studio.

 

Castiel loved how well yoga and Thai massage complemented each other as practices. There wasn’t much that you were required to have on hand to either teach yoga or to perform Thai massage. With yoga, you just needed a mat to help prevent a slip while you held a pose, but even that wasn’t an absolute necessity. With Thai massage, that was just a mat on the floor, mostly for the comfort of the person that received the massage and the occasional pillow for when you had to kneel on the floor while you worked on them.

 

Castiel called Anna occasionally, usually whenever he had a moment of down time where he wasn’t in class or doing other things that were required of him, which inevitably seemed to work out to about every 1-2 months. He smiled as he thought about how much Anna’s belly had changed and grown between these video Skype chats and how he had teased her endlessly about how they’d soon need to roll her everywhere, since she had become more belly than anything else these days. That usually earned him the middle finger and some choice muttered profanities at him from Anna, which never stopped being funny to Castiel.

 

Yeah, he knew he was an ass, but he was a loveable one.

 

~*~

 

Dean trailed behind Anna with an empty shopping cart as she walked ahead of him. Today had been deemed Operation: Get More Shit for the Nursery. Dean was fairly certain that Anna had already stocked up the nursery at her place with enough stuff to last her for _months_ , but she had mumbled something about ‘nesting’ and he had had enough sense not to argue with her. He’d like to keep his testicles intact, thank you very much.

 

As Dean caught up to her, he asked, ‘So, what exactly do you need to get today, Anna? Maybe I can help you find some stuff?’

 

‘I wanted to pick up a few more blankets, sheets, towels and cloths, because I know I’ll need them eventually. I want to find a rocking chair as well, but I’m kind of particular about what I want for it. Would you put the chair together for me when we find it? Please?’

 

Anna gave him big, sad ‘puppy dog’ eyes (a trick she learned from Sam), as she knew he was powerless to say no if she did that. The fact that she was pregnant with his kid likely factored into that as well.

 

Dean inwardly cursed the look on Anna’s face right now. Damn Sam for his ability to get him to do the things he wanted with his big, sad eyes. And then he had to go and teach Anna to do the same thing. If either of them ever taught his kid how to do that, he was _so_ screwed. He can’t help the fact that he’s a nice guy with a soft heart.

 

Dean sighed, ‘Yeah, of course I will. Do you want to split up and grab the stuff and then see what they have for chairs?’

 

‘I wanted to get your opinion on some things. Do you mind if we stick together?’

 

‘I suppose so. Shall we?’

 

Dean found himself in the toy section after he lost sight of Anna in the crowd. You would think that Anna would have been easy to spot with a baby belly that seemed to grow bigger every day, but when he turned around, she was gone.

 

In the end, after a cursory glance around him, Dean just shrugged and wandered the toy aisles to see what they had in stock. He figured if he stayed in one place, then Anna would find him eventually.

 

He was deep in the throes of the _epic_ battle of Barbie and Ken vs the dinosaurs and robots when Anna found him again. She watched as he battled it out with the kid that was playing with him, watched as each voiced their characters and made the appropriate battle noises.

 

Anna laughed when, as Ken died dramatically, he cried out that ‘it was a robot head and not the aliens!’ that everyone previously believed to be responsible for the wasted ruins that surrounded them. Battle over, he thanked the kid for the awesome fight and jogged over to Anna.

 

Dean had a wide grin as Anna laughed at him. ‘You are _such_ a big kid,’ she said smiling.

 

He shrugged as if to say, ‘ _Eh. What can you do?_ ’

 

‘C’mon’ Anna said and she playfully shoved Dean. ‘Let’s pay for all our stuff and go.’

 

‘As you wish.’ Dean replied, cheeky grin on his face.

 

Anna rolled her eyes affectionately at Dean. ‘Come along, then, Westley.’

 

~*~

 

The rest of Anna’s pregnancy sped by without a hitch. Anna hadn’t really suffered from morning sickness all that much, just the usual pregnancy woes of progressively swollen feet and a sore back, to name a few.

 

Dean occasionally received the odd late night phone call from Anna to go grab her something from the store for her weird cravings, for which he would tease her endlessly.

Anna would usually just smile and roll her eyes at him for being an ass and tell him point blank to ‘fuck off’. Dean always thought that was the funniest thing in the world and laughed his ass off every time.

 

~*~

 

After the birth, life went on blissfully for about 3 weeks or so before it all changed abruptly.

 

Anna had gone out for a walk with the Emma, as she had done every other day, when she was hit by a truck that had run a red light.

 

Dean was at work when he got the call.

 

Absolutely shell shocked, Dean refused to believe the police when they called to let him know what had happened. Bobby, after he heard Dean’s shouts from his office, took over the phone call. Dean went quiet and slid down the wall to the floor, numb.

 

With Dean in no shape to drive, Bobby drove him to Lawrence Memorial to see Anna and Emma. Dean ran all the way up to the front desk in the lobby, half crazed and frantic as he tried to get someone’s attention.

 

All Dean could think as he waited was, ‘I need to find my baby girl and find out what happened to Anna.’ The nurse at the Admitting desk told him that Anna was in surgery at the moment and likely would be for quite a while and directed Dean to the Pediatrics ward to find Emma.

 

On the elevator up to Emma’s floor, Dean barely spoke. Bobby didn’t say much either, apart from the silent squeeze to Dean’s shoulder that conveyed so many things he left unsaid. Dean felt a small measure of relief that Bobby was there with him at that moment. They had never needed many words between them in moments like this: Bobby just always knew.

 

At the nurse’s desk in Pediatrics, Dean waited restlessly as they pulled up the info on Emma’s condition. Dean nearly collapsed in relief when they said that Emma was not too badly hurt, just some mild abrasions from when the stroller had toppled over, but that they wanted to keep her in for observation for at least 24hrs, just to be safe.

 

One of the nurses took Dean in to see Emma and he couldn’t help the tears that fell when he saw her. She was so tiny under the IV tubing and blankets that surrounded her, but damn it, she was _alive_. The nurse gave Dean a gown to put on while he held her. Seated in a rocking chair, all Dean could do was stare at her while she slept in his arms. She looked so peaceful, lips twitching rhythmically, as if she was being fed.

 

As he sat and rocked Emma, Dean thanked every deity he could think of for the fact that she was here with him and watched every rise and fall of her tiny chest.

 

~*~

 

News of Anna’s condition came about an hour later while Dean was still with Emma.

 

Anna didn’t make it through surgery.

 

The doctor said that they had been working on trying to contain and repair the bleeding, but that the trauma of her injuries was pretty catastrophic and that they did everything they could.

 

Numb and emotionally exhausted, Dean just held Emma closer to his chest and cried.

 

~*~

 

The weeks that followed Anna’s death felt extremely long and, at times, was incredibly frustrating. He tried to juggle work, Emma, the execution of Anna’s last wishes (as per her signed will) and the search for her brother, Castiel, who was hard to track down, but at the end of it all Dean was a complete and utter mess.

 

Even with the help and support given to him by Sam, Jo, Ellen and Bobby, Dean had never felt so alone or helpless in his life.

 

~*~

 

About 6 weeks into his final 3 month teacher training course for Thai massage, Castiel got an urgent phone call that absolutely devastated him. Someone named Sam Winchester had said that he was calling on behalf of his brother Dean and that he was very sorry to be the one to have to tell him that his sister was gone.

 

He was quiet for a long moment before he found the voice to be able to speak through the tears that were streaming down his face.

 

Castiel asked about how Anna had died and about whether or not the baby had survived and was quietly relieved to learn that, yes, his niece Emma had survived, but was heartbroken when he was told about the accident that had lead to Anna’s death.

 

He thanked Sam for the call and took his phone number and email address to contact him once he finished his program and returned to the States. He walked back to his classroom in a daze and quietly informed his teachers of what had happened with the phone call before he asked to go home, then collapsed on his bed and cried himself to sleep.

 

~*~

 

It took everything Castiel had to get up the next morning for school as he wanted nothing more than to be able to be alone to grieve for the loss of his sister, his only family, save his niece. He went about his morning routine on autopilot, but didn’t eat breakfast as he normally would since his appetite had disappeared entirely yesterday.

 

Castiel quietly entered his classroom, made his way over to his desk and dropped his bag on the floor beside it. One by one, teachers and students alike came over to share condolences and hugs with him, which he accepted numbly before class began for the morning.

 

He made it through the rest of the day purely by rote since it was all hands on practice, but he wondered how long it would be before it became too much for him to bear. How long before he would fall apart completely.

 

Castiel had felt the loss of Anna almost as if, by dying, she had been carved out of his body and had left a broken, hollow shell behind. He could not fathom his life without her in it.

 

He silently mourned how he would no longer get to hear the sound of her laughter, whether it was at him when he was being an asshat or at something that she genuinely found funny. How he would never get to see her sit at her easel anymore as she painted and sang along to her music, paint smudged on her face and all over her hands.

 

He mourned how he would miss all of these little things (and so much more) that put together, had formed the whole that was Anna.

 

~*~

 

The last 6 weeks passed in a blur for Castiel and soon he would make his way back home to the States. He had emailed Sam to let him know that he would be back in about a week or so.

 

Not a day had passed without a thought of Anna and Castiel still felt the heaviness of his grief, but he somehow had managed to make his way through his days.

 

~*~

 

Castiel let out a gigantic yawn as he disembarked the plane in Kansas City and felt the bone-weary effects of a 30 hour flight plus layovers. While he was glad to be back home again in the States, it sunk in now, more than ever, that there was a giant hole left in his life as a result of Anna’s death.

 

He stood by the carousel to wait for his bags and contemplated whether to get in contact with Sam to let him know that he had returned. By the time his bags had made their way to him on the carousel, he decided that all he wanted right in this moment was to just curl up and sleep.

 

Outside he hailed a taxi to take him to his hotel for the night. He would rent a car in the morning and make his way back to Lawrence then.

 

As Castiel entered his hotel room, he went into the bathroom and turned the taps on to draw himself a hot bath. He set his bags on the bed and rummaged through them, pulled out what he needed for the night and set about his nightly routine.

 

When the tub had filled enough, he shut the water off, undressed and sank into the water, hissing slightly at the heat. It was a bit too hot at first, but it was desperately needed to soothe his aching muscles from the long journey.

 

As he soaked in the tub, his mind wandered to Emma and Dean. Castiel had to admit that he was very curious about Dean: his knowledge of him only extended to the few things that Anna had revealed to him through their conversations. He did sound like a great guy and he felt a pang of sadness that Anna would never have that again.

 

He also wondered how he would approach Dean. It’s not like they had ever met before and how awkward would that be to meet him? Like, ‘Hi! You don’t know me at all, but I’d like to see my niece, please?’. Oh, yeah, that would go over _really_ well.

 

Castiel stayed in the bath, thoughts jumbled, until the water had cooled and he needed to get out.

 

He toweled himself dry before he put on a tee shirt and boxers and slipped into bed.

 

‘Good night, Anna.’ Castiel spoke to an empty room, as he had done for the past 6 weeks. ‘I miss you. _So_ much. Love you.’ Castiel closed his eyes and sighed to himself then curled up into the blankets and let sleep overtake him.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean rummaged through drawers in Emma’s room as she slept, talking quietly on the phone to Sam.

 

‘I just don’t get it, Sam. How does one little body manage to poop so damn much? It’s insane! I don’t even remember if _you_ were this poopy as a baby and I changed enough of your diapers back then to know!’

 

Sam huffed a laugh at Dean ‘I dunno, man. What kind of formula do you feed her? Maybe has something to do with it?’

 

‘Huh, maybe,’ Dean murmured, ‘but that’s not even the worst of it! It’s like she gets this look in her eye and I swear to God, it looks like she’s got a smirk when she does it. A smirk, Sam! Like she knows I have no choice but to clean it up so she’d better make it worth my while.’

 

Sam let out a loud laugh, ‘Oh, man! She’s got you so whipped and she’s not even 3 months old yet! I can’t wait to see you when she’s a teenager and wants to date boys...or girls. Hey, you never know!’

 

‘You shut your mouth and bite your tongue! She will _never_ date! Ever! I’ll keep her grounded until she’s 30. Maybe even 40.’

 

‘Yeah, that’ll go over _so_ well.’ Dean could practically hear Sam’s smug look as he spoke and Dean scowled.

 

‘So...’, Sam began, ‘Anna’s brother should be finished with school and back from Thailand right around now. I hope you don’t mind, but I gave him your phone number and address. He said that he would get in contact with you once he got back to Lawrence and got settled in.’

 

‘Yeah, no, that’s fine.’ Dean said as he made his way downstairs. ‘Guess he’ll want to meet his niece, after all.’

 

The doorbell rang and interrupted his next words to Sam. Dean opened the door to the bluest eyes he’d ever seen, set below a dark head of messy hair reminiscent of the well and truly fucked-out. Dean’s brain screamed to a halt and his jaw dropped.

 

As he sucked in a breath, Dean said. ‘Sammy, I gotta let you go.’ and hung up on Sam’s squawks of protest from the other end of the line.

 

Blue Eyes blushed and dropped his gaze to the ground, then cleared his throat before he looked back up at Dean. ‘Um, hi. I’m Castiel, Anna’s brother? I...’ Castiel stood and shuffled from foot to foot nervously ‘I’m sorry. I should have tried to call first. I...So, I’m just going to...yeah...’ and turned to leave.

 

‘No! It’s fine!’ Dean managed to stutter out. ‘Come in.’ Dean stepped aside and let Castiel into the house. ‘ _Holy fuck! Those eyes! Hot damn..._ ’ he thought to himself as his face grew hot and he closed the door behind them.

 

‘Do you want something to drink?’ Dean asked as he showed Castiel into the living room of his place. ‘I have water, coffee, a couple kinds of tea. Uh, beer?’

 

Castiel gave Dean a small smile. ‘Tea would be nice. Thank you.’

 

‘Right.’ Dean said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. ‘Well, what I have isn’t much, just green or black tea and uh, Earl Grey? I dunno, they’re not mine. They’re Sam’s. I don’t drink tea. He left them here. For when he comes over. Which is sometimes...’

 

Dean mentally cringed at his verbal vomit. ‘ _Oh, yeah. He was smooth...Smooth like crunchy peanut butter..._ ’

 

Castiel tried very hard to hide his amusement over Dean’s babble. He didn’t think Dean would appreciate it if he laughed at him, even if it was done without malice. ‘Green tea will be fine. Thank you, Dean.’

 

‘Green tea it is, then!’ Dean replied as he rifled through his cupboards for the tea and a mug. He filled the kettle with water and turned on the heat, then turned to face Castiel.

 

‘So...This is awkward...’

 

Castiel let out a deep, throaty laugh. ‘To say the least. Ok, then. Shall we start over again?’ He extended his hand out to Dean. ‘Hi, I’m Anna’s brother, Castiel, younger by two years. I’ve spent the last year overseas, mainly India and Thailand, where I learned yoga and Thai Massage and I plan to open my own yoga studio slash clinic. Soon, I hope.’

 

Dean took Castiel’s hand and shook it. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Castiel! I’m Dean Winchester, Anna’s best friend, or well, I’d like to think I was, and father of your niece, Emma. I have a ‘little’ brother, Sam, who is four years younger but is actually taller than me. The brat. You’re already sort of familiar with him. I haven’t done much in the way of travel that didn’t require me to drive somewhere. I’m also a mechanic, so if you ever need one, let me know. I can get you the family discount,’ he finished with a wink.

 

‘Nice to meet you, Dean,’ Castiel replied.

 

‘Well, now that we got that out of the way, would you like to meet your niece?’

 

‘Very much so.’

 

~*~

 

The number of things that had ever truly affected Castiel in such deeply profound ways could be counted on one hand. Of all of them, meeting Emma for the very first time had the most impact for him.

 

He was lost for words as Dean placed her in his arms while he sat in the rocking chair in her room. His eyes searched her face as he tried to memorize every little detail. He clasped her tiny little hand inside one of his big ones, his thumb stroking the back of her hand gently. Unable to stop himself, he lifted Emma to his face and inhaled the pure, clean smell that babies have naturally and as he brought her back down to his lap, marvelled at how much she resembled Anna.

 

He reached out with the hand not currently occupied and stroked her hair softly. Emma stirred in her sleep but did not wake. Castiel felt as if he could barely contain the deep love and wonder that this little person evoked from him and felt himself search out Dean’s face from across the room where he stood.

 

Dean smiled back at him and said, ‘She’s perfect, isn’t she?’

 

‘I had no idea that something so small would make me feel what I feel right now, even though I’ve just met her. I truly don’t know how to even describe what it is that I feel. It’s amazing.’

 

‘Believe me, man, I know. I felt exactly the same way when she was born.’

 

‘Tell me about everything.’ Castiel looked at Dean earnestly. ‘That is, if you’d like to. I missed so much while I was away’

 

‘Well,’ Dean began, ‘I just want to go back a little bit to give you some background info first. Do you mind if I do that?’

 

Castiel nodded. ‘Yes, please go ahead. I got some info from Anna during our Skype chats, but I’d like to hear your side of things.’

 

Dean shifted his position so that he was propped up against the door, feet crossed, before he began.

 

‘When Anna told me she was pregnant, I was completely blown away. I mean, we got along well enough, even though we really only had that one night together. I think she was so worried that I was going to freak out on her when she told me, but no, I was just stunned more than anything. Once the initial shock wore off, I asked her what I could do to help. Anna was so relieved that she burst into tears. That moment was the start of our friendship and our adventure into parenthood.

 

‘Missouri -that was our midwife- was SO awesome. She was like a surrogate mom and Yoda all rolled into one. But anyways, I didn’t even know that a midwife was even a kind of option that existed. I just figured that labour and birth equaled hospital, complete with sterile room and very cold, clinical type of delivery, that that was your only choice. But Anna was very specific about what kind of birth she had wanted to have once she found out she was pregnant. She did _all_ sorts of research for options that were available to her for pregnancy and childbirth.

 

‘And I gotta admit that I was somewhat skeptical about it when Anna told me that was what she wanted. I didn’t know anything about what seemed like some hippie dippy New Age crap to me. Seemed like that was more Sammy’s thing than mine, but for every single question I had for Missouri, every argument that I could think of to disprove having a midwife and a ‘natural birth’, she was able to answer in detail and back it up with research when necessary.

 

‘Anna went into labour early in the morning, though nothing much really happened right away, so she just hung around home and tried to rest up like Missouri told her to do. About 4 hours later, Anna called me to come get her because things were starting to progress and get more and more intense. I told her that I would call Missouri and tell her to meet us at the Birthing Center at Lawrence Memorial before heading out.

 

‘By the time I arrived at Anna’s place, which was maybe 5-10 minutes away, Anna’s water had broken in the kitchen. I tried to crack a joke about peeing in the kitchen and how unsanitary that was, but the look Anna gave me was murderous, so I just shut up and quickly cleaned it while Anna got the rest of her things together.’

 

Dean wandered into the room and sat down on the floor before he continued.

 

‘When things really started to happen with the birth, all I can tell you is that it was a wild ride. It’s intense, raw, primal, beautiful, emotional, scary, you name it. It’s everything, all jumbled together. You also feel so helpless as you watch someone that you care about in that much pain and there’s almost nothing you can do to help, but I did what I could. I helped her with focused breaths to help with pain management, walked with her in between contractions, talked to her through the contractions, encouraged her when it came time to push, told her how awesome she was and that our kid would be as well.

 

‘Being present at Emma’s birth was surreal and I can admit that I did my share of ugly crying in the end. When Missouri put Emma in my arms for the first time, man, I never knew that I could love something _so_ fiercely in just an instant. From the moment she came roaring into this world with a wail to rival Robert Plant, I belonged to Emma, fully and completely. I knew that I would love and protect her until I took my last breath and I would do so without hesitation. It was the best day of my life, without question.’

 

Castiel listened in awe. The way Dean described things made him feel like he really had been there with them. He felt a slight pang of regret and guilt that he had missed out on this and for not being here for it all, before he mentally scolded himself. He was here now, and that was what was important.

 

Emma stirred and began to fuss. Dean got up and made his way to the door. He looked at Castiel as he walked from where he was and said, ‘Well, looks like Squirt is finally up. Can you change her diaper while I go fix up a bottle, please?’ and was out the door before Castiel could respond.

 

Castiel stood up as he held Emma and looked around the room, slightly panicked. ‘Oh, crap!’ he exclaimed as he searched for something, anything that would help him. Emma continued to fuss but didn’t cry.

 

‘How’s it going up there?’ Dean called from the kitchen.

 

‘Uh...’ Castiel replied intelligently.

 

Castiel could hear the sounds of Dean as he banged around in the kitchen downstairs and then made his way back up the stairs.

 

‘Well, how bad was it? Was there an explosion? Was it dry? Wet?’ Dean asked as he shook the bottle to mix the formula.

 

‘Um, I don’t know?’ Castiel replied, unable to meet Dean’s eyes.

 

‘You _do_ know how to change a diaper, right? Right?’ Dean asked, and tried to catch Castiel’s eyes.

 

‘Uh...No?’ He flicked his eyes up to Dean and then back down again.

 

‘Dude, seriously? Not even once?’ Dean looked at Castiel in disbelief.

 

Castiel shifted Emma in his arms to hold her on one side, his free hand going to the back of his neck and rubbing nervously, embarrassed, eyes downcast. ‘I...I’ve never had occasion to, okay?’

 

‘Huh,’ Dean grunted. ‘Well, today’s your lucky day, then.’ he said as he set the bottle on the dresser and grabbed Castiel’s arm.

 

‘Lay her down on this.’ he explained as he pointed to the change table, then cooed at Emma. ‘Yes, baby, it’s ok. Your uncle Cas here is going to change you, get you all clean again and then give you your bottle. Patience, Babygirl. It’s coming.’

 

Castiel looked at Dean, dumbfounded.

 

‘What?’ Dean replied as he soothed Emma with touch.

 

‘You called me Cas. Nobody has ever called me that but Anna.’

 

‘Oh, I’m sorry. It just kind of slipped out. I didn’t mean...I don’t have to call you that if it’s too painful for you.’

 

‘No! It’s ok! I don’t mind it. I mean, I do miss her, quite terribly, in fact. But I don’t mind if you call me that. It makes it feel as if she’s still here, in a way, you know?’

 

‘Yeah, man, I get you. So? Shall we? Little Miss here is a little pissed right now. We should probably fix that before that tantrum becomes full-on Chernobyl.’

 

Castiel can’t help the smirk that crept onto his face as he bowed low in deference and gestured grandly. ‘Teach me your ways, O Wise One.’

 

‘Smart ass.’ Dean rolled his eyes at Castiel. ‘Ok, so the first thing you do is...’

 

~*~

 

Dean shut the door behind Castiel after he left and leaned against it. ‘ _That went well, I suppose_ ’ he thought to himself.

 

He thought about how much he already liked Castiel, but squashed those thoughts because it was not cool to want to hit on your friend’s brother. Especially right now, while he was also dealing with her loss.

 

Dean sighed and checked on Emma again before he went down to the kitchen to fix himself something to eat.

 

~*~

 

Castiel drove back to his hotel as he thought over the visit with Dean and Emma. ‘ _All things considered_ ’, he thought to himself, ‘ _that went pretty well_ ’.

 

He thought back to the crash course for ‘how to change a diaper and bottle feed a baby’ that Dean had given him and laughed. That had been quite the adventure.

 

Dean was an insanely gorgeous, funny and charming man; just a few of the things that never failed to catch Castiel’s interest. Castiel felt himself flush at the thought and tried to put it out of his mind. Dean was clearly into women and it would do Castiel no good to fall for him, and as the last remaining link to his family, Castiel was fine to remain just friends.

 

~*~

 

The buzz of the coffee grinders and the constant whir and hiss of the espresso machine set a rhythm that soothed Castiel as he sat in the cafe called Just Desserts. He had frequented this place on a near daily basis before his travels and always enjoyed his conversations with Gabriel, the owner, and loved that they _always_ had the best coffee and baked goods of any place he’d ever been to before.

 

As he sat there, he reviewed a few of the property listings online that caught his eye for his future studio. He was set to meet with the realtor in a couple of days and wanted to be fully prepared with questions for each space and to suss out their suitability for what he needed. He also debated the need to put together a want ad for another part time yoga instructor and someone for reception, but decided that he should get the right space first and then he would go from there. He was so focused on his game plan that he never heard someone approach his table.

 

‘Mind if I sit here?’

 

Castiel’s head snapped up at the voice, and blinked. ‘Dean? What are you doing here?’ _‘Smooth, Novak,’_ he thought grumpily. _‘Real smooth.’_

 

‘Well, I was hoping to sit with you for a bit while I had my coffee, but if it’s a bad time, I won’t bother you.’

 

Castiel mentally facepalmed himself and replied, ‘Please, have a seat, Dean. Sorry if I seemed rude, I didn’t mean to come off that way. You startled me, is all’

 

Dean chuckled as he sat down, while Castiel gathered up his computer and notebook from the table and set them aside on the other chair. As he grabbed his coffee, Castiel spoke again. ‘Thank you again for the visit last week with Emma. That was probably one of the better days I’ve had in the last little while since Sam called me about Anna. Every day is a little bit better, but it still hurts.’

 

‘Yeah,’ Dean replied quietly. ‘I may not have known Anna for very long, but we got close incredibly fast. I felt so lost that first week or so without her. I always felt like I would still be able to see her, you know? Like she had only stepped out for a little bit, but would be back again soon? The only thing that kept me grounded was Emma. When things got bad, and some days were _really_ bad, I would pick her up and hold her until I felt better. She’s been very therapeutic, even though I still feel like I have no clue what to do as a parent.’

 

‘I think you’ve done quite well so far, from what I’ve seen, Dean. Emma seems pretty content with things in general, so I would count that as a win and a good indicator that you’ve done _something_ right. And I can see how having Emma to care for would have been therapeutic. Makes me wish I had had something similar to help me cope.’

 

Castiel shifted in his seat, voice quiet when he spoke. ‘When Sam called me, I literally felt as if my world had ended. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. I didn’t want to believe that it could be true. That such a bright, vivacious spark of life was gone.’

 

Castiel paused for a long moment and pinched the bridge of his nose to hold back tears before he continued, ‘She was all I had when our parents died when we were younger and was actually my guardian for a couple of years until I turned 18. She was my rock and kept me sane when the loss of our parents threatened to overwhelm me. We were lucky, though, in a sense. If we hadn’t inherited our parent’s estate and all the assets that entailed, I honestly don’t know how we would have survived on our own. It’s not like we had any family to turn to for help.’

 

‘Man. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for you. I don’t know what I would do if I ever lost Sam.’ Dean paused for a moment before speaking again.

 

‘My parents died in a house fire when I was 4 and Sam was a baby. Sam and I were spending the night with Bobby and Ellen so that mom and dad could have a night to themselves. They said it was faulty electrical wiring or something that had started in Sam’s room and spread fast. The house burned while they slept.’

 

Dean swallowed past the lump that formed in his throat. He didn’t talk about this very often, never really needed to before. ‘I guess by the time they woke up, the house was engulfed in flames and any exit they could have used had been cut off by damage from the fire. I am so thankful that we had Ellen and Bobby and their daughter, Jo. Having them adopt and raise us was the best thing we could have ever asked for.’

 

As Dean finished, they fell into silence for a long moment, lost in their own thoughts. After a few minutes, Dean started to fidget and looked over at Castiel.

 

‘Well.’ Dean huffed out a laugh. ‘That got heavy really fast.’

 

‘Indeed’, Castiel murmured in agreement.

 

‘Hey.’ Dean tilted his head towards the door. ‘Wanna go do something else for a bit? I have some time before I have to go get Emma from Sam’s place.’

 

‘Yes, please.’ Castiel nodded as he gathered his stuff and shoved it in his messenger bag.

 

Dean tossed back the remainder of his coffee and said, ‘Okay, let’s go, then,’ as he looked for a garbage can.

 

~*~

 

The wind was warm as they exited the coffee shop and made their way to the crosswalk that lead up to South Park. Golden rays of sun filtered through the leaves of the trees as they swayed gently in the wind. The sounds of children at play echoed through the air and provided a peaceful lull as they walked.

 

‘So, Cas. How long have you lived in Lawrence?’

 

‘Anna and I moved out here about a year or so after our parents died, so about 8 or 9 years, give or take. What about you, Dean?’

 

‘Born and raised. Used to live over by Centennial until the fire happened. Sammy and I actually grew up not too far from where we are right now. The old man and Ellen still have the salvage yard just off Oregon St. We used to play hide and seek in the old junkers all the time, or just go exploring, before Bobby decided to put me to work and showed me how to fix them. He had actually kept dad’s ’67 Impala after everything that happened and when I was 16 told me that if I could get her tuned up and running again, that she was mine.’

 

Castiel whistled low, ‘Wow. A ’67 Impala! That’s pretty impressive. Such a sweet classic car!’

 

Dean was excited at the prospect that Castiel might possibly be a fellow gearhead he could talk cars with. ‘Oh, yeah? You know a lot about cars?’

 

Castiel laughed. ‘No, but I know enough to appreciate a classic when I hear of it. Especially if they’ve been well taken care of, as I assume yours has.’

 

Dean was definitely proud of his Baby. ‘I should take you out for a spin in the ol’ girl some time, so you can appreciate her beauty and sheer awesomeness!’

 

‘That would be lovely, Dean. Thank you,’ Castiel replied with a smile.

 

‘Yeah, no problem,’ Dean said and looked over at Castiel and smiled. ‘So, you spent the last year or so overseas, right? How was that? Where all did you go?’

 

Castiel smiled at Dean. ‘When I left Lawrence, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, other than just get out and travel. I didn’t initially plan to spend a lot of time in any one place. I kind of wanted to see it all, you know?’

 

Dean nodded his head and smiled and silently urged him to continue, ‘I did some of the typical places like Paris and Rome, but then I found myself in India and I don’t know. There’s just something about the energy of that place that got to me. Yeah, it’s crowded, hot and smells horrible in some areas, but there is also this undercurrent that seems to thrum beneath it all. I think it’s largely due to their religious practices and how they live their life. The belief that the ‘divine lives in all beings’ and how everything is interconnected. How what we each do has an impact on a bigger scale.’

 

They stopped in front of a bench and sat down before he continued, ‘I always had, to some extent, resonated with that ideology prior to my trip there, but to actually be there and to live it had had a profound effect on me. I decided I wanted to learn how to teach yoga, after I had immersed myself into the different styles I used in my own practice. I studied with a few teachers before I went for official teacher training. While I was doing the yoga teacher training, I learned about Thai massage program from a girl that had already been through the program in Chiang Mai. And so I went.’

 

‘Dude. That sounds wild! I’m actually a little jealous! I don’t know if I could ever get on a plane for that length of time, especially now with Emma, but you make me kind of wish I had done a bit more with my time. I’ve pretty much done only road trips by myself or with Sam.’

 

‘Well, there’s something to be said for road trips, so don’t discount their value. You can still do and see some pretty amazing things when you only have four wheels to get you there. What was your favourite one?’

 

Dean hummed in thought. ‘Well, Sam and I once did a trip out to California, when he considered Stanford as a place to go to school. We hit LA, Vegas and the Grand Canyon on the way back home. LA was okay, the weather was nice but the smog, not so much. The Grand Canyon was about as awesome as you would expect it to be, but I think the most fun we had was Vegas. We were there for a couple of days. The first day we got there was so fucking hot, it had to have been well over 104° F, and we were walking down the Strip and Sam is just _sweating_. Like _buckets_ of it and it wasn’t stopping, so I hauled him into one of the hotels since they all have A/C, and he found a store that had a fan blowing on the floor and promptly parked himself over it so it could blow up his shorts. I lost count of the number of stores we got kicked out of because Sammy was moaning in ecstasy over them while cooling himself off.’

 

Castiel doubled over as he laughed with Dean. When they had somewhat composed themselves again, he spoke, ‘I think my favourite road trip was my ‘Musical History Tour’ that I took down to New Orleans, with stops in St. Louis and then Memphis, so I could visit Graceland, of course. Do you like Elvis, Dean?’

 

Dean considered this for a moment. ‘Yeah, I kinda dig Elvis. Some of his stuff I didn’t care for, but overall, yeah, I do.’

 

‘I think I spent almost a month between those cities, sought out the best places to go for music, for food. New Orleans definitely trumped them all on both counts. I think if I were to do the trip again, I would try during the music festival season. What do you like to listen to?’

 

Dean shrugged. ‘I dunno, man, I like just about everything. I’m definitely a _huge_ classic rock fan and like bands like Zeppelin, Rush, Deep Purple and whatnot, but I’m also into Blues, Jazz and Funk. Basically if it has a great bass line to it, or it has a lyrical or musical complexity to it, I’m all over that.’

 

Castiel looked over at Dean, pleased. ‘You and I have very similar tastes in music. This bodes very well for our friendship.’

 

Dean quirked an eyebrow at Castiel and smiled. ‘You think so?’

 

‘Oh, yes.’ Castiel nodded, returning Dean’s smile.

 

Dean’s phone went off. ‘Hold that thought. Hey, Sammy. What’s up?’

 

‘Dude, seriously? Is it really that hard to call me by my name?’ Dean can just imagine the bitch face that Sam is currently gave him and laughed.

 

‘Nah, man. I just like to wind you up coz you take the bait every damn time. It’s hilarious!’

 

‘Yeah, whatever, jerk.’ Yup. Sam’s got epic bitch face, for sure.

 

‘Bitch. So, is that all you called me for, then? Coz you missed me? Aww, Sammy, I missed you, too,’ Dean cooed down the phone at Sam.

 

‘Shut it, asshat. I called because I have to leave earlier for class than I expected to and need you to come and get Emma soon.’

 

‘Yeah, ok, I’ll leave in a couple of minutes.’

 

‘Thanks, see you soon. Bye.’

 

‘Bye.’ Dean turned to Castiel. ‘Well, I should get going. Can I drop you off somewhere?’

 

‘No, that’s quite alright, Dean. My hotel’s not too far away from here. I can walk back.’

 

‘Are you seriously staying in a hotel? What the hell, man?’

 

‘Well, yes, Dean. I haven’t found a place to live yet and I don’t particularly want to live out on the streets.’

 

‘No, that’s not ok. You can stay with me and Emma.’

 

‘No, Dean, I am perfectly content to stay in a hotel until I can find something suitable. I don’t want to impose upon you.’

 

‘Look, I have a spare room, ok? It’s not an imposition. It just doesn’t make sense for you to waste your money on a hotel for god knows how long while I have the space available. Just, I don’t know, help out with groceries or something if you’re concerned about the need to pay me to stay there.’

 

‘But, Dean, I...’

 

‘Cas. Please. You’re practically family now, and I just don’t feel comfortable with you in a hotel when you don’t have to be. Besides, I think I would like to be able to have adult conversations with someone once in a while. Ok?’

 

Castiel nodded. ‘Ok, Dean. Thank you.’

 

‘Do you have much stuff to pack up?’

 

Castiel shook his head. “No, just what I have in the hotel room. The rest of my things are in storage with Anna’s stuff, which I still have to sort through, at some point.’

 

‘Alright. Go back to the hotel and get your stuff together and then call me. I’ll swing by to get you after I get Emma.’

 

‘Okay.’


	4. Chapter 4

Castiel unlocked the door to Dean’s place and made his way inside quietly. These past few months had been good for him, especially when he hadn’t needed to look for a place to live in addition to a studio space as well.

 

After a thorough property search, Castiel had finally found the perfect space and with Dean’s help, they did a little renovation work to tweak the space to suit his needs. Now it was time to put the finishing touches on his new space. He had also hired another teacher named Lisa to be a part time instructor as well as reception.

 

Things were coming together nicely and there seemed to be quite a lot of interest in his Thai massage sessions as well as the different styles of yoga that they would be able to offer. Sure, a yoga studio wasn’t an uncommon thing to find in a moderately sized city like Lawrence, but Castiel believed that their approach was unique enough to sustain them as well as to be able to draw in new clients.

 

Castiel toed off his shoes and dropped his bag against the wall as he walked down the hall and entered the living room to find Dean sprawled out on the couch, eyes glued to the TV. A soft smile crossed Castiel’s face as he took in his friend and roommate.

 

He didn’t know when it had happened, but he felt a warm sensation flow through him whenever he thought of or looked at Dean. He felt like he should be far more worried that had fallen so hard and fast for Dean in such a short period of time, but he just couldn’t bring himself to care at that moment. He knew that Dean didn’t feel the same, but that was ok for now. He’d rather have Dean in his life as a friend than not have him at all. One day he would be able to move on and maybe find someone, but for now, he’s content with the thoughts of ‘what if?’

 

‘Hello, Dean.’

 

Dean shifted on the couch to face him. ‘Hey, Cas. How’s it going? How are things at the studio?’

 

Castiel moved in closer to the back of the couch as he talked. ‘Things are quite well, thanks for asking. Just had the last of the furniture delivered and getting a few things set up like internet and the phone lines. I think I’ll be good to go for my opening in about a week and a bit. The classes are mostly full up and I am getting excited to get things started. How was your day?’

 

‘It was pretty good. Did some restoration work on a cherry vehicle today, a ’69 Mustang. She’s not as good as Baby, but still pretty mint. Other than that, though, it’s been the same old, same old with oil changes and other repairs.’ Dean sat up slightly and pointed towards the kitchen, ‘Dinner’s in the oven, if you’re hungry. I had to put Miss Em down for a nap since she didn’t get one at the sitters earlier, and I was starving. Go help yourself.’

 

‘Thank you, Dean,’ Castiel replied as he walked to the kitchen to grab his dinner. ‘Do you want a beer?’ he called out to Dean.

 

‘Sure! Thanks, Cas!’ Dean called back.

 

Castiel balanced his plate and cutlery in one hand and two beers in the other and made his way back to the living room. He stood at the other end of the couch and looked at Dean and waited. When Dean didn’t notice him and move right away he said, ‘Dean? Can you please move your feet so I can sit and eat? You can put them back after I’m done. Here’s your beer, by the way.’

 

‘Aw, thanks, babe. You’re so good to me.’ Dean smirked at him as he took his beer and moved his feet so Castiel could sit. Castiel ignored the pooling heat low in his belly and hoped that he wasn’t blushing.

 

Castiel rolled his eyes at Dean as he muttered, ‘Assbutt.’ and sat down. He looked at the TV and asked, ‘Are you watching Big Brother _again_? Honestly, I don’t know what you see in that show. They ‘trap’ a bunch of vapid narcissists in a house together for months at a time for the sake of, what, a half million dollar prize? It’s like a modern day ‘Lord of the Flies’ for televised public consumption.’

 

‘Whoa, there, Mr. Grumpy Pants! Yeah, I’m watching it _again_ because there was nothing else on. Besides, I’m somewhat fascinated by two of the current house guests, Zach and Frankie, or ‘Zankie’ as they’ve called themselves. Frankie is the resident gay boy and flamboyant to the nth degree and Zach claims to be all straight, but they’re totally all over each other, like all of the time! They cuddle, hold hands, maul each other and there’s neck and cheek kisses. Well, Frankie does it to Zach more often than not, but Zach isn’t necessarily passive either. And there’s a lot of open affection between most of the guys and Frankie, too. It’s like a big ol’ lovefest they have going on there with guys cuddling and sharing beds. Definitely is the most gay friendly season I’ve ever seen, so far.’

 

‘Huh, interesting.’ Castiel mumbled through a mouthful of food and watched with Dean as he finished his meal.

 

After Big Brother finished and they were sprawled lazily on the couch, Dean plopped his feet into Castiel’s lap and whined. ‘Caaaas, can you rub my feet for me, please? They hurt.’ Dean pouted at Castiel. He knew Castiel was powerless against ‘the pout’.

 

‘No, Dean.’

 

‘Aw, c’mon, pleeeeease, Cas?’ The pout deepened.

 

‘Dean...’

 

Pout mode intensified as Dean geared up again, armed with ‘puppy dog eyes’ as well, ‘Please, Cas? I’ll do your feet, too, if you want.’

 

‘Will you stop whining like a baby if I do?’

 

Dean nodded enthusiastically. Castiel heaved a loud ‘put upon’ sigh and conceded with a drawn out, ‘Fiiiiiiine, give me your feet.’

 

Dean fist pumped the air and hissed out, ‘Yusssss!’ as they rearranged themselves on the couch and he ripped off his socks.

 

~*~

 

Dean was dozing on the couch, his feet still over in Castiel’s lap, when Emma cried out from upstairs. Castiel had already woken up a couple of minutes before and had heard Emma begin to fuss. He carefully removed Dean’s feet and started to get up when Dean woke. He looked at Dean and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got this. You don’t have to get up,’ then made his way upstairs.

 

‘Hey, Babygirl, did you have a nice nap?’ Castiel cooed at Emma as he picked her up from the crib. ‘Let’s check your diaper and see what we’re dealing with, hmm?’ he said as he set about getting things ready for a change as well as a sleeper for the night.

 

Downstairs, Dean had hauled himself off of the couch and padded barefoot into the kitchen to get a bottle ready for Emma. He figured he might as well get it ready now so Emma didn’t have to wait.

 

Dean climbed the stairs quietly a few minutes later, warmed bottle in hand, when he was stopped short at the sound of a low voice that sang softly in the dim room. _‘No fucking way!’_ , he thought to himself as he felt his heart clench ever so slightly and a warm flicker of arousal through his system. There was no way Castiel could have possibly known that this song would ping a few of his kinks, especially given the current context it was used in.

 

Dean quietly leaned up against the wall opposite of Emma’s door, so he was partly in the shadows as he watched Castiel sway with Emma in his arms and sang to her softly:

_‘And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune,_  
_Then the piper will lead us to reason._  
 _And a new day will dawn for those who stand long,_  
 _And the forests will echo with laughter...’_

 

Castiel startled a little as he turned around and saw that Dean stood there and watched him with an unreadable expression on his face.

 

Dean pushed himself off the wall, walked into Emma’s room and stopped about a foot in front of Castiel. He looked at Castiel as if to study him before he spoke thickly. ‘Zeppelin, huh?’

 

Castiel hitched in a breath sharply as his eyes widened, feeling breathless as he replied, ‘It seemed appropriate at the time?’

 

Dean huffed out a laugh at that and continued to stare at Castiel. The moment that Dean felt himself start to lean in slightly towards Castiel was when Emma had decided to make her presence known. Dean snapped out of his reverie and took a step back from Castiel. He thrust the bottle at Castiel and turned on his heel as he muttered something about needing to take a shower and walked out the door. Castiel just stood there at a loss for what the hell had just happened.

 

~*~

 

Things were tense the next morning in the house but neither made any move to talk about the awkward moment between them. Dean left for work after he made sure that Castiel was ok to bring Emma out to the sitters that day.

 

Castiel sat at the kitchen table with his coffee and puzzled over what had transpired the night before. Unless he was kidding himself, he was sure that Dean had been about to kiss him. But that couldn’t be right, could it? Dean had never given any indication that he was interested in men, let alone him.

 

After he sat for a while longer, and was still no closer to an answer, Castiel got up and started to get himself and Emma ready for their day.

 

~*~

 

If there was one thing Dean excelled at, it was ignoring things he didn’t know how to or want to deal with. He absolutely _did not_ think about what it would be like to kiss Castiel. Definitely _did not_ think about how it would feel to grab a hold of those hips and slot them against his and grind slowly.

 

Any and all things to do with Castiel and sex, Dean mentally stuffed into a little room with a big door labelled ‘Nope’. Castiel was too good a friend to ruin that friendship by having sex. That was definitely a no go in his books.

 

~*~

 

Dean came home with Emma later that night to a quiet house. He dropped off their stuff upstairs, placed her in her swing in the dining room, then began to pull ingredients from the fridge for dinner. He had mostly finished his prep work when Castiel walked in the door.

 

‘Hey, Cas.’

 

‘Hello, Dean.’

 

Castiel entered the kitchen and began to pull dishes and cutlery for when Dean finished dinner and set them on the table. He went to the fridge and pulled two beers and set one in front of Dean before he sat at the breakfast bar.

 

‘Thanks, man,’ Dean replied as he twisted off the cap and took a long pull from the bottle.

 

‘Listen, I wanted to apologize if I made things awkward last night. That certainly wasn’t my intention. You, like Anna, have become probably my best friend in the world and I don’t want to lose that because of my own stupidity. So, we cool?’ Dean looked at Castiel nervously and hoped he hadn’t messed things up.

 

‘Yes, Dean,’ Castiel answered with a smile. ‘We’re good.’

 

~*~

 

Life went back to normal for Castiel and Dean in the week that followed ‘The Incident’. Dean was extremely glad to have not screwed things up between them. He liked to have Castiel around and was glad to have his company, even if the circumstances that lead to their meeting were unusual, he wouldn’t have changed it for anything.

 

The one thing that still lingered in the back of Dean’s mind after ‘The Incident’, though, was a hyperawareness of all things Castiel. Dean decided that he would have to keep his newfound awareness in check. Things had just gotten back to normal between them and Dean did not want to make a move and ruin that normalcy, especially when he knew that Cas had no interest in him that way. ‘ _Better to have the friendship than nothing at all_.’ he thought to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

In the few months that Dean and Castiel had lived together, they had fallen into an easy rhythm with each other and Emma. Dean would usually get up first, check in on Emma before he showered and got ready for work.

 

Castiel would stay home with Emma in the mornings and drop her off at Ellen’s or the sitters before he headed off to run errands before work and whichever one of them to finish first at the end of the day would pick Emma up later on.

 

Dean usually had coffee and breakfast ready for them by the time Castiel would wander into the kitchen, all bleary eyed and sleep rumpled, as he blindly searched for and poured himself a cup of coffee. Castiel did not do well with mornings, as Dean had discovered, until after the caffeine had kicked in. Only then was he functional.

 

Breakfast was eaten at the table in relative quiet most days, since Dean never usually got more than a grunt out of Castiel before he’d fully woken up. Today was no different as Dean watched Castiel from across the table. Castiel moaned happily into his coffee and Dean felt a flutter and swooping sensation in his stomach at the sound.

_‘What the hell was that?’_ he thought to himself. Dean sat there deep in thought while he ate his breakfast, before the penny finally dropped in his mind and he flushed.

 

Slightly flustered by what he felt, Dean tried and failed to form words into a sentence. What came out instead was a rather tiny, undignified squeak that left Dean completely horrified and he blushed furiously. He cleared his throat as Castiel glanced at him, one eyebrow raised in question, and tried again.

 

‘So, uh, you still good to take Emma over to the sitters later?’

 

‘Yes, Dean. My plans have not changed magically overnight.’ Castiel looked over at Dean with concern. ‘Are you alright? You seem to be a little flus--’

 

Dean’s chair slid back sharply as he stood up quickly, ‘Yup! Fine! I gotta go, Cas. See you tonight? Ok, bye!’ he said and hurried out of the kitchen to the front door.

 

Castiel watched as Dean took off like someone had lit a firecracker in his ass, then looked over at Emma and said, ‘Your father is acting very oddly this morning. I wonder what’s gotten into him.’ He sighed and picked Emma up from the baby seat that was on the floor beside him. ‘Well, c’mon, kiddo, let’s go get you ready for the day.’

 

~*~

 

Dean sat in the Impala for a few minutes before he headed into work. He banged his head softly against the steering wheel. ‘Idiot, idiot, idiot...’ he murmured to himself. Dean pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed.

 

‘Dean,’ Sam answered warily. ‘Why are you calling me so early in the morning? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?’

 

‘I’m an idiot,’ Dean answered.

 

‘Well, yeah,’ Sam chuckled. ‘What’s up? Why are you an idiot?’

 

‘I think I’m in love with Cas.’

 

‘Okaaaaay. Still don’t see why you’re an idiot, though. You’ve been in love with him for a while now.’

 

‘What?! What the hell are you talking about? No. I haven’t! I only just figured it out this morning!’

 

‘Uh, Dean? Who knows you better than probably anybody else on the planet, save for maybe Jo? Who grew up looking up to his big brother, and studying him intensely, so that he could be just like him? I _know_ you and I know all of your ‘tells’. You’re like an open book to me. And Cas? Dude, he had you pretty much right from the very start. He didn’t even really have to do anything. You were already his.’

 

‘Oh, god! Am I really that transparent?’ he groaned.

 

‘To me, you are. So, tell me again? Why are you an idiot?’

 

Dean sighed as he ran his hand over his face. ‘I was watching Cas this morning as he sat at the table drinking his coffee and he moaned, fucking _MOANED_ , into his coffee.’

 

‘Ah, yes. A good ‘cup of joe’ will do that to you.’ Sam answered sagely.

 

‘Shut up, dude! No, what I’m saying is that I felt like I was in one of those cartoons, you know, where you get a one tonne weight dropped on you? All of a sudden it was crystal clear, like something had fallen into place. And I kind of freaked out and ran off.’

 

‘Yeah, then you definitely _are_ an idiot. Although, I don’t really know why you freaked out in the first place. Do you actually think he doesn’t reciprocate those feelings?’

 

‘I dunno, maybe? I mean, we’re friends, but wouldn’t it be weird, though?’

 

‘How so?’

 

‘Well, I slept with his sister, my daughter is his niece...’

 

‘And...? Dean, you can’t help who you fall in love with. So your beginning has an unconventional twist to it. So what? It doesn’t matter to Cas. He still loves you.’

 

‘Yeah, of course he does, in the same way I loved Anna. We bonded over Anna and Emma and have become really close friends now because of it, but he’s not actually _in_ love with me.’

 

‘What the actual fuck, Dean? How can you not have noticed that Cas is in love with you as well? I was sure the amount of staring he does when he thinks you aren’t looking would have been a dead giveaway, for one. Not to mention how he seems to have _no_ sense of personal space when it comes to you? It’s obvious to anyone with _eyes_ , Dean.’

 

‘Ugh, I don’t know what to do...’

 

‘Dude, not to be Captain Obvious here, but maybe you should just, I don’t know, _talk_ to him?’

 

‘Yeah. You’re right. Well, I should get going. Bobby’s probably wondering why I’m still sitting in my car. Thanks, man.’

 

‘Good luck, Dean. I hope it works out for you.’

 

‘Thanks. Me, too.’

 

~*~

 

Castiel paced the floor of the front lobby of the studio, slightly agitated but mostly excited. The day had finally arrived for their Grand Opening and he found that he couldn’t sit still and wait until they opened the doors in a couple of hours.

‘Ugh!’ he cried in disgust, ‘I need to burn off some of this energy. Lisa, I’ll be in the studio dancing my ass off or something. Come get me if you need me before we open.’

 

‘No problem, Castiel.’ Lisa smiled at him. ‘Go enjoy yourself.’

 

Castiel wandered into the darkened studio, plugged his iPod into the stereo and scrolled through his albums until he got to Paul Oakenfold’s album ‘A Voyage into Trance’ and hit play.

 

He rolled his shoulders as he walked to the centre of the room and began to move. Time didn’t matter in this moment for Castiel: nothing mattered except the movement of his body as he let the trance music wash over him.

 

Dean stopped by the studio a little while later with Emma to check things out and wish Castiel good luck for his opening day, with gifts in the form of coffee and a pastry from Just Desserts. He knew Castiel wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of caffeine and sugar, especially if it was a special occasion like today.

 

Lisa had let them in the door with a smile and Dean didn’t fail to notice the appreciative once over that she gave him as he stood in the front foyer. Dean threw her a cocky grin as he thumbed over to where he heard the music through the walls. ‘I take it he’s in there?’

 

‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘He’s in there burning off some nervous energy before we subject ourselves to the masses.’

 

‘Awesome!’ Dean grinned as he adjusted Emma in his arms. ‘I’m just going to go bug him then.’

 

‘Ok, then. Be good.’ she called out to him.

 

‘Pffft.’ Dean scoffed at her. ‘Where’s the fun in that?’ he said and pushed open the door to the studio.

 

Dean stood silently as he watched Castiel dance. He noticed that Castiel had his eyes closed and was oblivious to anything around him. Dean silently made his way over to the table where the stereo was, careful not to get in Castiel’s way and set the coffee and snacks down. The sound of Emma when she cooed as Dean held and swayed with her was what brought Castiel out of his reverie.

 

‘Hey, guys! What are you doing here?’ Castiel asked as he gave them a huge smile and walked over to the table to pause the music.

 

Dean shrugged as he bounced Emma, who was happily burbling away in his arms. ‘Just thought we’d stop by and wish you good luck with the Grand Opening today. Plus, I brought you a coffee and a snack.’

 

Grabbing the pastry from its bag, he replied. ‘Aw, that was very thoughtful of you. Thank you so much.’ as he smiled and then proceeded to devour the pastry.

 

‘No problem, man.’ Dean chuckled as he watched Castiel eat.

 

‘Uhf muh guhd, thith ith tho goood!’ Castiel groaned out through a mouthful of pastry.

 

Dean smiled at Castiel. ‘They’re compliments of Gabe at the cafe. He sends his regards and best wishes for today, by the way.’

 

Castiel finished the rest of his snack before he spoke again. ‘Don’t let me forget to thank him later, ok?’

 

‘You got it.’

 

‘Thank you, Dean. Are you going to stick around for a little while?’

 

‘Yeah, we can hang out for a little bit before you have to open. Isn’t that right, Miss Em?’ Emma just blew spit bubbles and hummed at Dean in response.

 

‘Well, now that that’s settled, you guys are going to dance with me.’ Castiel walked back over to the stereo.

 

Dean’s eyes went wide. ‘What?! Dude. No. I don’t dance!’

 

‘Oh, bullshit!’ Castiel laughed. ‘I’ve seen you shake your ass at home when you are in the kitchen making food!’

 

Mortified, Dean whispered. ‘When did you see that? I don’t do that in front of anyone, not even Sam!’

 

‘A few of weeks ago, I think? You were in the kitchen with Em and making dinner. I came home and I guess you didn’t hear me since you had the music loud. You were at the stove stirring something and singing and had your back to where I was standing, but there was _definitely_ some booty shaking going on.’ Castiel smirked at Dean’s now full blown blush.

 

Castiel scrolled through his music and settled on Ace Frehley’s ‘Back in the New York Groove’. He pushed play and grabbed Dean’s hand and led him further into the studio.

 

‘C’mon, Dean. This has a good beat to it that’s easy to get into. Now start moving!’

 

Dean stood there for a moment before he sighed and started to move along with Castiel, careful not to bounce Emma around too much.

 

‘That’s good, Dean! Now get your hips into it! I know you can do it!’

 

Dean moved, but Castiel knew Dean could do better and went over to him. He reached out and grabbed Dean by the belt loops of his jeans and pulled him a little closer and moved Dean’s hips, alternating sides. Dean was surprised that Castiel manhandled him so blatantly. Castiel just shrugged and winked at him .

 

‘Dean,’ Castiel spoke solemnly as he gave Dean’s hips a firm squeeze. ‘These right here are capable of doing a lot more shaking around than you are currently doing at this moment.’ He leaned in a little closer to Dean, never breaking eye contact and said lowly. ‘Move. Them.’

 

After a brief stunned moment, Dean threw his head back in a full-bodied laugh as he danced. ‘You little fucker!’ he exclaimed.

 

Castiel looked at Dean in feigned innocence. ‘What?’

 

‘ _You_ , you asshat! I came down today to wish you good luck, but also to talk to you.’

 

‘Oh? What about?’ Castiel fought back the smile that threatened to break his face.

 

‘About what an amazing idiot I’ve been for the last little while and not seeing what was right in front of my face and you fucking stole my thunder!’ he laughed again.

 

Castiel smirked at Dean. ‘Meh, it was bound to happen at some point.’

 

Dean shook his head in wonder at the two of them. As the laughter calmed down, he looked at Castiel and asked, ‘So, what changed? Why wait til now to do something?’

 

‘Well, initially I never thought you’d ever be interested. But after the incident last week in Em’s bedroom and then your _extremely_ odd behaviour at breakfast yesterday morning, it made me think. It was pretty much _all_ I could think about for the rest of the day, to be honest. Eventually I just decided ‘fuck it, I’m going for it.’ And so, here we are.’

 

‘Mmm,’ Dean hummed as he closed the distance between them. ‘Thank fuck for that.’

 

The kiss was heated but unhurried as they explored each other’s mouths. Castiel’s hands went up to Dean’s face to cradle it while Dean slipped his free arm around Castiel to draw him closer.

 

After a minute or so they pulled back. With blown pupils and hooded eyes, they looked at each other.

 

Dean cleared his throat and asked huskily, ‘See you later tonight when you’re done?’

 

Castiel kissed Dean again. ‘Of course.’

 

~*~

 

Dean felt like a kid on Christmas morning. Ever since he left the studio that morning, he’d had a perma-grin slapped onto his face and felt giddy with excitement. Castiel would be home soon and the urge to pounce on him the moment he walked in the door was something Dean couldn’t shake. He had put Emma down for the night not too long ago, so that he could have the evening with Castiel. Dean heard Castiel’s key in the door and absolutely did _not_ run over to it like an excited little kid. Nope.

 

Castiel startled when he saw Dean take a run at him, but composed himself quickly and caught Dean as he glomped onto him. Dean looked at Castiel and whispered, ‘Hi.’

 

‘Hello Dean’ he answered back with a smile.

 

Dean nuzzled into Castiel’s neck. ‘Welcome home, babe. I missed you,’ he mumbled as he nipped along Castiel’s pulse point.

 

Castiel squeezed his arms tighter around Dean in a hug before he began to stroke up and down Dean’s back and buried his nose in the crease of his neck. ‘How did I get so lucky?’ he replied, slightly muffled.

 

Dean pulled back to look at Castiel. ‘Life’s full of surprises, I guess.’

 

Castiel smiled at Dean. ‘So it would appear.’

 

Dean unwound his arms from around Castiel’s shoulders. He grabbed Castiel’s hand and tugged him towards the kitchen. ‘I made you dinner. Let’s go eat.’

 

Castiel’s lips twitched in a barely concealed smile. ‘As you wish...’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone interested, the music links are [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbsAhSxd85U) and [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdvc5AmrzlM) . :D


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